Kubantsev, S.P. Lack of will as an element of diminished responsibility in the light of the decisions of the US Supreme Court.

Abstract: Provisions prohibiting application of criminal responsibility to mentally ill people are recognised in all the legal systems of the world. Within the Anglo-American system this statement roots deeply in history, however, in the second half of the XX century the practice of the Supreme Court of the USA on this issue became more controversial. This article is devoted to the study of the practice of the Constitutional Court of the USA, criteria and standards of person’s competence, and of acceptable punishments. For example, in Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399 (1986) the Supreme Court of the USA recognised that capital punishment should not be set for a mentally ill…